Chapter 133 - Chapter 133: Chapter 133: Picking Stars

Chapter 133: Chapter 133: Picking Stars

Translator: 549690339

“Ah- This is really delicious!”

Qi Xiaoyu leaned back in her chair with a content expression.

Her cheeks glowing red, not due to a bout of cold, but because of the warmth from eating hot pot.

Initially, she found the numbing spicy soup base hard to accommodate. However, as she ate, she began to feel warm all over, as though the invading chill had miraculously been dispelled, and she gradually fell in love with this sensation.

Apart from all the ingredients on the table, the one she adored the most was the thinly-sliced beef. It required only a brief blanching before it was ready to eat. Ascertaining its edibility was ridiculously simple – one simply waited for it to change colour entirely.

The beef, after being cooked in the spicy soup base, was surprisingly free from any greasiness. The balanced proportion of fat and lean meat created an exquisite taste during the chewing process.

The thin slicing technique reduced the cooking time for the beef and retained the inherent delectability of the meat to the maximum extent. The marbled textures of the meat absorbed the essence of the aromatic and numbing spicy soup base. Combined with the dipping sauce, it was simply too divine for words.

Qi Xiaoyu felt that she could eat a billion more mouthfuls if her stomach weren’t so painfully full already.

On the other side, Zhao Chen, who had a larger appetite, was also reaching the end of his meal.

He dumped the last plate of mutton slices into the numbing spicy soup, waited until the pink hue of the raw mutton fully vanished to be replaced by an enticing dull white and slight grey-brown, before scooping them out with a slotted spoon and placing them in the oil dish to soak, then transferred half of them into a small bowl nearby.

With oily smears still around her mouth, Yangyang let out a cheer and resumed eating with gusto.

Considering mutton dishes as her original favourite cuisine, she naturally had a special fondness for mutton.

Zhao Chen too had a significant liking for mutton.

He popped a piece of mutton slice into his mouth and savoured its succulence, a look of appreciation fluttered across his face.

Controlling the mutton’s strong flavour is essential when cooking mutton.

If the muttony taste is too overpowering, it can be difficult to swallow and could even induce nausea.

However, if the muttony taste were altogether absent, the “soul” of the mutton would be lost.

Therefore, balancing the muttony taste is extremely crucial.

The thinly sliced mutton, by reducing the cooking time, allowed the overpowering muttony flavour to be largely dissipated during cooking. The muttony taste left in the mutton naturally reduced. Meanwhile, the various spices in the soup base played a key role in suppressing the overpowering taste, making the fresh mutton easily delectable without any additional processing.

Combined with the flavour of mixed crushed garlic and chopped coriander in the oil-dipping sauce, these tastes gradually fused together during chewing and overflowed in the mouth, creating an indescribably wonderful sensation.

Having finished the last plate of mutton slices, Zhao Chen rubbed his distended stomach, glanced at Yangyang who was also satiated beside him, and decided to call it a day.

Meanwhile, Du Weiwei picked out the cooked wild vegetables from the clear soup pot, put them into her mouth directly, and similarly revealed a satisfied look.

The reason she was still eating was not because of having a large appetite, but simply because she ate slowly.

The wild vegetables, a local specialty of Bai Lu Mountain City, were somewhat crisp and tender. This unique texture and a hint of fresh flavour amazed her.

When these fresh flavours combined with the clear soup made from pork stomach and chicken, they absorbed more delicious taste while undergoing a new transformation.

Without needing any dipping sauce, merely eating it directly, Du Weiwei was completely smitten by this wonderful taste.

She lightly rubbed her slightly bloated stomach and reluctantly set down her chopsticks.

She wanted to eat a billion more times.

Let Xiaoyu say it!

She thought to herself, then covertly snuck a glance at Qi Xiaoyu sitting next to her.

Liu Tianchen’s gaze swept over the four individuals in front of him, before eventually resting on Qin Lang, who was also full and leaning back in his chair.

A notion began to form in his mind during the hotpot meal and by now, it had become an overwhelming impulse.

It’s time to reveal my true identity!

Under the gaze of the four individuals, Liu Tianchen rose from his chair.

“What?!”

In the largest meeting room of the Spirit Chef Association, Liu Shuang couldn’t help but stand up, his expression serious, “Chairman, are you sure?”

The chairman of the Bai Lu Mountain City Spirit Chef Association, the only second-level Spirit Executor in the local area, Xu Qingmo, rubbed his eyebrows, and handed a sealed bag to Liu Shuang, “You can see for yourself.” Liu Shuang took the bag, but before he even had a chance to inspect it closely, the door of the meeting room was abruptly opened.

Figure after figure entered in succession, all of them sharing the same identity – they were the Spirit Executors of Bai Lu Mountain City.

Unlike Liu Shuang, who had constructed the Cold Snow Training Ground halfway up the mountain, the other first-level Spirit Executors all lived in the city area at the foot of the mountain, so they arrived a bit later.

“Chairman, is it true what you said on the phone?” The lead figure spoke anxiously, but his gaze quickly fell on the bag in Liu Shuang’s hand.

The gazes of the other Spirit Executors also gathered on it in unison.

Within that plain transparent sealed bag, under all those focused gazes, lay a postcard. On it was an odd black symbol.

It was a fancy mask, but the location of the eye holes had been replaced by the shape of hands. At where the nose bridge of the mask should be, there was a depression like a gem mount, and its upper contour outlined a glowing gem.

And the shape of that gem, everyone present was very familiar with.

It was the outline of a Starstone.

As they looked at the two hands reaching for the gem in the symbol, the hearts of everyone present seemed to be tightly squeezed by an invisible grasp.

This symbol was…

The world-class criminal organization, Star Hunter!

“Chairman, isn’t that…” A Spirit Executor couldn’t help but begin, “The prophetic letter from the legends?”

“Yes.” Xu Qingmo slightly nodded, a stern look in his phoenix eyes, “This is the notorious prophetic letter of the Star Hunters.”

The crowd exchanged glances.

Naturally, they were not unfamiliar with this globally well-known criminal organization.

According to rumors, this criminal organization has a very special tradition. They would send a prophetic letter to the target before each operation.

It’s as if successfully executing the actions even under the target’s full preparation was a great thrill for the Star Hunter organization.

The validity of the prophetic letter was half a month.

That is to say, the Star Hunter organization would definitely act within the next fifteen days after the prophetic letter is received.

And their target was none other than the Starstone.

This was an organization that specializes in stealing the Starstone, which is controlled solely by the Spirit Chef Association!

“Don’t just stand there, everyone take a seat. We need to come up with a strategy next.” Xu Qingmo waved his hand, indicating for the other Spirit Executors to be seated.

The Spirit Executors sat down one after another, the expressions on their faces growing more serious.

At their level, they had vaguely heard some rumors.

There was a reason why the Spirit Chef Association held the Starstone in such high regard.

Behind the Starstone, lay an enormous secret.

Therefore, they cannot afford to lose!

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